Weekly Briefings: Idaho, Oregon, Washington

Getting inundated with data about the world around us isn’t difficult – sit still for 10 minutes, and more will pile on.

You need the Briefings because all information is not created equal.

Some of it just isn’t true. Some of it is true but peripheral – car crashes and house fires (unless they’re yours) will be forgotten in a few days. Some is diverting or even amusing but basically unimportant.

The Briefings – one each for Washington, Oregon and Idaho – focus on what’s important here and now, and will be of lasting import. The 20 to 30 pages in each weekly issue is what you really need to know about what’s going on in the region around you.

Elections. We keep watch of the races, keeping you up to date with the candidate, the money picture, and how the races are shaping up. And major news about elections themselves, and how the campaigns are developing.

Federal. The federal government can seem remote and hard to follow, and most news outlets do not track its regional impact in detail. We do, in every issue: The congressional delegation, the members of Congress, and how the region interacts with the federal government.

State. We watch changes and developments across state government, and highlight changes in state laws and – every month – changes in state regulations that usually get almost no news coverage.

Local. Local governments and other entities too: We keep a look at what they’re doing and how they function.

Legal. In addition to regular news – about judges, corrections, law enforcement – we offer summaries of every substantive state supreme court decision.

Business/Economy. Business and economic developments, both in individual businesses and broader state and regional trends. And we check stock prices and other indicators – even mark the high and low gas prices in the state each week.

Environment. News of the environment – looked at broadly – is a prominent part of our service. We include regular features such as the weekly state of the snowpack and water levels in every basin the state, and weather in communities across the state.

Transportation/Communication. What’s happening in roads, in public transit, in on-line? We keep up with these areas in their own section, which tracks as well developments in the news media.

People. People who have arrived or departed, had a major milestone, and those of statewide impact who have recently died, are listed in our People section.

Calendar. We also have a calendar of upcoming events, deadlines and meetings of interest to anyone following developments in the state.

The sources for all this come from official reports, studies, news releases, statements as well as original reporting. The sources are as close to the horse’s mouth as we can get, and we make sure to keep them reliable. What you see in the Briefing, you can trust. We take care to attribute our sources.

And there’s still more: Perspectives and analysis from editor Randy Stapilus.

Sample issues for each of the three states are available online. More can be had on request.

Annual subscription is $58 a year (that’s about a dollar an issue).

Would you like to order? You can do that by sending a check, noting the name of the publication and an e-mail address, to: Ridenbaugh Press, P.O. 834, Carlton OR 97111.